How to be an effective speaker

[DOC_Ma]

I have always wanted to practice my speaking and writing skillz. Right now I am just quite average in both categories. What are some of the effective ways to practice? You recommend any books, videos etc? Where do you usually begin?

 

 

PS: I have always envied how elegant Obama's speeches are. Not saying I can ever reach that level but I wanna sound closer to his level

[Lactic Folly]

Check out your local Toastmasters club.

[future_doc]

I have had to make presentations or teach to a group. I have found that by knowing the subject matter well, I had no problem communicating to an audience. I am no Obama but as well as I am prepared, I am comfortable and it works.

[aaronjw]

Practice, practice, practice. There is an art to both and in my experience its a rare, rare individual who has natural ability without a lot of practice.

 

The next thing that helps is really knowing the material you are talking or writing about.

 

Toastmasters is awesome. Highly recommend. Also suggest offering yourself to high schools to give presentations (pick a topic that you know very well). As a premed'er or existing med student you probably have some interesting and inspiring insight to offer the younger ones

[Cnussey]

I was trained...largest piece of advice I can give you is learn how to deal with a mistake. If you slur or say something silly, you need to learn how to not feel embarrassed and just enjoy the mistake as you would if you were sitting at the dinner table and said something silly...it comes across as very professional, easy, and you will look confident if you can remain calm and jovial. I've made a lot of speeches, taught classes, and have given impromptu interviews on the radio...learning to enjoy and move on from a mishap rather than getting nervous or worrying about it is the best gift you can give yourself.

[DOC_Ma]

Check out your local Toastmasters club.

 

Seems pretty awesome. Will do!

 

I have had to make presentations or teach to a group. I have found that by knowing the subject matter well, I had no problem communicating to an audience. I am no Obama but as well as I am prepared, I am comfortable and it works.

 

Hi f_d, ya I hear ya. But I wanna be good at spontaneous topics if you know what I mean. I prepared and did what u described above for my med interviews and it worked out well. I am decent in communication but I just want to up another notch to make it elegant and inspiring

 

Practice, practice, practice. There is an art to both and in my experience its a rare, rare individual who has natural ability without a lot of practice.

 

 

The next thing that helps is really knowing the material you are talking or writing about.

 

Toastmasters is awesome. Highly recommend. Also suggest offering yourself to high schools to give presentations (pick a topic that you know very well). As a premed'er or existing med student you probably have some interesting and inspiring insight to offer the younger ones

 

I agree 100%. Questions is where does one begin with such things?

 

I was trained...largest piece of advice I can give you is learn how to deal with a mistake. If you slur or say something silly, you need to learn how to not feel embarrassed and just enjoy the mistake as you would if you were sitting at the dinner table and said something silly...it comes across as very professional, easy, and you will look confident if you can remain calm and jovial. I've made a lot of speeches, taught classes, and have given impromptu interviews on the radio...learning to enjoy and move on from a mishap rather than getting nervous or worrying about it is the best gift you can give yourself.

 

That takes a lot of practice and experience i bet!

 

 

ps: I have always liked the persuasive skills of lawyers. Having great skills in public speech has been a dream of mine since I was little. Just never had the chance to practice it.

[Cnussey]

Yup. But you'll be very happy with yourself when you get it

[future_doc]

For being spontaneous, you need to be comfortable with yourself, the surroundings, the audience and have the ability to captivate them. I did this only once in my lifetime - I gave a stand up (literally) comedy monologue, not quite sure how it happened, but I fed off the energy and response of those present, about 20, some of whom I had never met. It was fun but alas, unlikely to occur again any time soon.

[DOC_Ma]

Yup. But you'll be very happy with yourself when you get it

 

ya for sure. I have yet to experience that feeling.

[icewine]

++ to Toastmasters.

[kylamonkey]

I printed out some sample questions (about 50), put them on recipe cards, and had them in the bathroom. I practiced answering them in the mirror almost every morning.

 

I'm doing a course right now to be a 1st aid instructor, and I'm getitng a lot of positive feedback on my hand communication (I don't fidget, and they 'say something'). I think it's due to that.

 

Also, get a job where you have to talk to people. I know that aaronjw, cnussey, and myself are all older applicants who had speaking to large and small groups of people as part of our job situations. You asked how we practiced- that was how we practiced. We had to do it, or we weren't doing our jobs properly.

 

To be honest, one of the best jobs I had for that was sales. I worked in sports retail. Selling hockey sticks and tennis rackets and helping a guy pick out a nice running outfit for his wife at christmastime- that was what helped me learn to think on my feet, to talk on my feet. I dealt with many different people every day and they all had their won needs. They all had to be spoken to at different levels. I hope that was a more specific answer to your "how do you practice" question.

[apache]

honestly, the old saying repetition is the mother of all learning holds true... ive been going to toastmaster for 3 years and volunteer for table topics (where you're given a completely random topic and have to talk about)... this really habituates you to talking in front of the crowd so there's absolutely no nervousness, you're not worried about them liking you because you know your good, and if they don't like your speech, they're either idiots or you had an off day... the other thing is does is automates hand gestures when you're speaking, when you're thinking of words you automatically will begin walking around the room or briefly pause instead of going um, well, ughh like most people do... being on stage so many times also teaches you do be an actor, when im giving a speech i look everyone in the eye, but really i'm looking right through them and in my own little world thinking about what i want to say, i just look like i'm "consciously" making eye contact and thinking about the eye contact to you, it doesn't mean i am... the other thing is a strong mastery of the topic you're discussing, this way you can focus your executive function on your audience

 

join toastmasters and talk every chance you can, in fact, anything you suck at, find someone good at and get them to teach you, then get out there and do it a million times, i dont even go to toastmasters for the public speaking anymore, if i wanted to id go to the one for professionals who are already really good on average, but i like the people who go there, it's also good, because as an evaluator you pay attention to things you wouldn't of if you we're just casually watching because you have to give a speech about your evaluation... bottom line, join tm, do lots of impromptu speaking, everywhere, in line at subway, when the prof asks a questions... just talk, lol... and don't worry if you make an idiot out of yourself, everyone does, lol

[leap87]

honestly, the old saying repetition is the mother of all learning holds true... ive been going to toastmaster for 3 years and volunteer for table topics (where you're given a completely random topic and have to talk about)... this really habituates you to talking in front of the crowd so there's absolutely no nervousness, you're not worried about them liking you because you know your good, and if they don't like your speech, they're either idiots or you had an off day... the other thing is does is automates hand gestures when you're speaking, when you're thinking of words you automatically will begin walking around the room or briefly pause instead of going um, well, ughh like most people do... being on stage so many times also teaches you do be an actor, when im giving a speech i look everyone in the eye, but really i'm looking right through them and in my own little world thinking about what i want to say, i just look like i'm "consciously" making eye contact and thinking about the eye contact to you, it doesn't mean i am... the other thing is a strong mastery of the topic you're discussing, this way you can focus your executive function on your audience

 

join toastmasters and talk every chance you can, in fact, anything you suck at, find someone good at and get them to teach you, then get out there and do it a million times, i dont even go to toastmasters for the public speaking anymore, if i wanted to id go to the one for professionals who are already really good on average, but i like the people who go there, it's also good, because as an evaluator you pay attention to things you wouldn't of if you we're just casually watching because you have to give a speech about your evaluation... bottom line, join tm, do lots of impromptu speaking, everywhere, in line at subway, when the prof asks a questions... just talk, lol... and don't worry if you make an idiot out of yourself, everyone does, lol

 

+1

 

Just to add to this: I've learned how to be a good public speaker by observing my professors and good speakers at a conference. When I go to a conference, for example, I really pay attention to the way people speak, what they do on the stage, how they pronounce different words and where/when they inject a joke. I used to be so scared to inject a joke during my presentations, but I've realized that so many good speakers do that to relieve the tension.

[DOC_Ma]

I printed out some sample questions (about 50), put them on recipe cards, and had them in the bathroom. I practiced answering them in the mirror almost every morning.

 

 

I'm doing a course right now to be a 1st aid instructor, and I'm getitng a lot of positive feedback on my hand communication (I don't fidget, and they 'say something'). I think it's due to that.

 

Also, get a job where you have to talk to people. I know that aaronjw, cnussey, and myself are all older applicants who had speaking to large and small groups of people as part of our job situations. You asked how we practiced- that was how we practiced. We had to do it, or we weren't doing our jobs properly.

 

To be honest, one of the best jobs I had for that was sales. I worked in sports retail. Selling hockey sticks and tennis rackets and helping a guy pick out a nice running outfit for his wife at christmastime- that was what helped me learn to think on my feet, to talk on my feet. I dealt with many different people every day and they all had their won needs. They all had to be spoken to at different levels. I hope that was a more specific answer to your "how do you practice" question.

 

Hi I m just wondering what are the sample questions that you are talking about? Where can I find them? Also I had sales experience and I did quite well in it. However it was not public speech, it was a door to door sales and more like one on one. I usually have no problem in 1 on 1 situations. My problem is when there's a large crowd I would be speechless that's pretty much it. My one time childhood public speech experience was quite traumatic to myself

 

 

honestly, the old saying repetition is the mother of all learning holds true... ive been going to toastmaster for 3 years and volunteer for table topics (where you're given a completely random topic and have to talk about)... this really habituates you to talking in front of the crowd so there's absolutely no nervousness, you're not worried about them liking you because you know your good, and if they don't like your speech, they're either idiots or you had an off day... the other thing is does is automates hand gestures when you're speaking, when you're thinking of words you automatically will begin walking around the room or briefly pause instead of going um, well, ughh like most people do... being on stage so many times also teaches you do be an actor, when im giving a speech i look everyone in the eye, but really i'm looking right through them and in my own little world thinking about what i want to say, i just look like i'm "consciously" making eye contact and thinking about the eye contact to you, it doesn't mean i am... the other thing is a strong mastery of the topic you're discussing, this way you can focus your executive function on your audience

 

join toastmasters and talk every chance you can, in fact, anything you suck at, find someone good at and get them to teach you, then get out there and do it a million times, i dont even go to toastmasters for the public speaking anymore, if i wanted to id go to the one for professionals who are already really good on average, but i like the people who go there, it's also good, because as an evaluator you pay attention to things you wouldn't of if you we're just casually watching because you have to give a speech about your evaluation... bottom line, join tm, do lots of impromptu speaking, everywhere, in line at subway, when the prof asks a questions... just talk, lol... and don't worry if you make an idiot out of yourself, everyone does, lol

 

Hi thanks for the reply. If I remembered correctly you go to uoft med right? Can you share more about how you balance med school and TM sessions? I am very tempted to do TM now

 

+1

 

Just to add to this: I've learned how to be a good public speaker by observing my professors and good speakers at a conference. When I go to a conference, for example, I really pay attention to the way people speak, what they do on the stage, how they pronounce different words and where/when they inject a joke. I used to be so scared to inject a joke during my presentations, but I've realized that so many good speakers do that to relieve the tension.

 

Going to conferences is absolutely a great way to practice. But I don't do research anymore so I don't have the chance to do that

[apache]

mmm... i use to be in med and decided to go for dentistry or law instead now that i'm a lot less afraid of taking risks than i was a few years ago (dent and law don't offer the same security which i valued when i was younger but you gotta go for what you want, and i think i can be the at the top of either of those fields so i'm going to give it a go)

 

toastmasters doesn't require much of a time commitment, it's about 2 hours a week, i do 3 since i help set up and stuff and talk to new members about joining etc. if you're doing a speech that week then obviously there's the time you need to prep for the speech, but the cool thing is people come from a variety of backgrounds so if you wanted to a presentation on epidemiological risk factors on diabetes you can kind of overlap that with your studies and particular interests in medicine, the cool thing is since toastmasters is so ubiquitous when you achieve different accolades (like you get one every ten speeches or something) you can actually put it on your resume and it looks very impressive, everyone knows what toastmasters is... it's literally a valuable thing to do for almost any profession, i go to the business toastmasters on campus and i'm not a business student, but i enjoy learning from them and vice verca. plus, it's actually really fun, the people are usual nice, when you're starting out you're giving a speech in a safe environment where you'll get constructive criticism but also advice on what you're doing right. also, you get to do a lot of networking, after our last meeting a lot of us went down to this young entrepreneurs meeting, which might not sound useful in medicine, but honestly, having friends in different disciplines never hurts. also, if you're interested, there's toastmasters for professionals, i've been really tempted to leave my group and go to this one since everyone is a doctor, dentists, entrepreneurs, people in finance, education, etc., there's always a pulmonologist and cardiologist that go too (when they're not on call), plus a couple dentists... so it's a great chance to network

 

Hi thanks for the reply. If I remembered correctly you go to uoft med right? Can you share more about how you balance med school and TM sessions? I am very tempted to do TM now

[kylamonkey]

muse87- can I ask a question about TM?

Are people who are already decent public speakers welcome to start? I am teaching courses now to 10-20 people, but I'd love to get more comfortable with larger groups and do more of it. Maybe learn some more advanced skills. Should I consider going?

 

As to the OPs question, the interview questions I practiced with were the regular old med school interview questions, but you could use MMI questions too. Check in the "med school nterviews" section of this forum.

[DOC_Ma]

muse87- can I ask a question about TM?

Are people who are already decent public speakers welcome to start? I am teaching courses now to 10-20 people, but I'd love to get more comfortable with larger groups and do more of it. Maybe learn some more advanced skills. Should I consider going?

 

As to the OPs question, the interview questions I practiced with were the regular old med school interview questions, but you could use MMI questions too. Check in the "med school nterviews" section of this forum.

 

So you find med school interview questions are useful for you to practice public speech? I didn't find it the same way. The interview questions are more just like normal conversations.

[future_doc]

I agree and public speaking can be much the same way as long as you don't feel the emotional or psychological weight of it.

[apache]

Yeah, definitely, there's usually numerous toastmasters groups in each city.

 

Here's the website to search for clubs.

 

http://reports.toastmasters.org/findaclub/searchresults.cfm?Country=Canada&State=Alberta

 

There are all kinds of different groups, some targeted towards people in various professions, or people who are new to english, and a number of other different groups. Guests are always welcome at our club and other clubs I've visited, so try a few different ones and see which on fits you best. There was one I went to where I was just amazed (one speaker was an actress and was telling a story and illustrating it in body movement), I was blown away! Everyone in this group in particular was responsible for presenting something, somehow, to a fairly large group of people in their job and all had unique skills. Most of them were already excellent and looking for tips from people in other disciplines to incorporate into their presentational style.

 

So whether you're trying to learn english, or trying to refine your already excellent presentation skills, there's a group for you

 

muse87- can I ask a question about TM?

Are people who are already decent public speakers welcome to start? I am teaching courses now to 10-20 people, but I'd love to get more comfortable with larger groups and do more of it. Maybe learn some more advanced skills. Should I consider going?